Transcript What is Project Management?

CS616 Software Engineering
School of CSIS, Pace University
Software Project Management
Practical Approach By the Current Industry
QA Team Presentation
03/30/2006
Presentation Overview
•
Introduction
•
Project Management Basic Terminology
•
Why Project Management?
•
Project Life Cycle
•
Project Risk Management
•
Communication
•
Project Closure
•
PM Fun!!
•
Conclusions
Introduction
Team 1 : Team Members
Srinivas Vittal
Hanting Lin
Raghu Basavaraju
Ancey Varghese
Team Website : http://utopia.csis.pace.edu/cs615/2005-2006/team1/
Why Project Management?
To avoid this…
What is a Project?
What is Project Management?
What is a Project?
Definition:
A project is a temporary effort,
undertaken with a defined start and
end date, to create a unique product,
service, or result.
Source : Project Management Institute
http://www.pmi.org
What is Project Management?
 Definition:
Project Management is the
application of knowledge, skills, tools,
and techniques to project activities in
order to meet or exceed the Sponsors
needs and expectations.
 The
art of balancing competing demands
among scope, time, cost and quality.
Project Characteristics

What are the 3 characteristics which
define a project?

Scope/Objectives (products, deliverables)

Time (project schedule)

Cost (budget)
Implemented against:

Resource constraints / availability

Risks & issues

Other competing priorities
Value of Project Management

Why Undertake Projects?

To deliver a benefit to the organization

To support the business strategy

To identify and resolve major problems / issues

To establish a solid foundation for a new product

To provides guidance in organizing and staffing
deliverables
In summary:

To enhance the value of the organization through the
timely delivery of objectives, in the most cost effective
way possible with the right resources providing subject
matter expertise.
Benefits of Project Management

What are the benefits?

Less wasted effort

Less hassles due to clear objectives

Projects delivered on-time and within budget

Projects meet the needs of the business and
deliver business benefits.

Improved resource and budget control

Better coordination of efforts and activities

Increased customer satisfaction

Recognition of success
How to get from a Concept to a Product?



Coordinate requirements definition, architecture
definition, system implementation and testing efforts –
Project Management
Use process models to guide you through these
activities
 What activity needs to be done next
 How much of the it needs to be done
Project plan = Instance of process model
Project Plan – What does it provide

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
Why?
What?
When?
Who?
Where?
How?
How Much?
Whereas






Objectives
Milestones &
Products
Responsibilities
Approach
Resources & Effort
Assumptions
Project Planning How to Begin?
1st Step

Sit with the Project Sponsor to discuss and
document what he/she is looking to achieve by this
project.

understand their passion for the end result

clarify the real scope and objectives of the project

determine constraints (time, $, dependencies)

answer the question “What do I have to do?”

be able to successfully create a Project Charter and
get it approved / signed-off by the Project Sponsor
2nd Step

Break down the scope into manageable pieces “Work Breakdown Structure” (WBS). A planning
exercise designed to:

break down the project by component of work, not by
department

ensure that you have captured and identified all of the
tasks and activities involved to successfully deliver the
project

allow you to easily quantify and estimate each
deliverable with more confidence

involve the Team in the planning process to create
ownership
Sample WBS
Work Breakdown Structure
0.0 Project Goal
1.0 Objective
Task 1.1
2.0 Objective
Task 1.2
Task 2.1
Task 2.2
Activity 2.1.1
Activity 1.1.1
Activity 1.2.1
Activity 2.2.1
15
Sample : Utopia Project Schedule
Risk
Management
Issues vs. Risks
An issue is a problem that is currently impacting on
a project……..
A risk is a problem which may impact the
project and jeopardize its success.
Risk Management

Definitions:
 What is Risk?
 The chance of exposure to the adverse
consequences of future events - i.e. threats to
the management of the project.
 What is Risk Analysis?
 The identification and definition of risks, plus
the evaluation of impact and resulting action.
 What is Risk Management?
 The activities involved in the planning,
monitoring and controlling of actions that will
address the threats and problems identified, so
as to improve the likelihood of the project
achieving its stated objectives.
Types of Risks

Typical Project Risks:

Project timescales, deliverables, milestones

Requirements definitions, spec’s

Project management and control

Resource limitations, constraints

Technical complexity

Contractual obligations with consultants / external suppliers

Internal organizational constraints, policy, priorities
Risk Management Process
Risk Assessment:
High
PROBABILITY

CONSIDER
ADDRESS &
ACTION !!!
WATCH !!!
CONSIDER
Low
Low
IMPACT
High
Communication
&
Reporting
Communication & Reporting

Why is Communication & Reporting important in
the conduct of a project?

Keeps everyone up-to-date

Promotes confidence

Builds understanding throughout Team, projects culture

Builds good working relationships

Creates discipline

Removes immediacy - I need this information now !!

Eliminates surprises !!
Communication & Reporting

What ways can the Sponsor and Project Manager
communicate?

Progress Reports (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)

Checkpoint Meetings (at the end of each Phase of Work)
 Review progress since last meeting
 Agree to proceed to next phase

Steering Committee Meetings

Team Meetings

Chat in the hallway - How’s it going?
Don’t wait for problems to occur to
start communicating !!
Communication & Reporting

What is reported on?

Good News

Bad News

Issues & Risks

Achievements for the period
Communication –
An In Depth Look…
What is Communication anyway?

Communication is defined as the interchange of
thoughts or opinions through shared symbols;
e.g. language, words, phrases

Some synonyms of the word communication:
message, directive, word, contact, commerce,
communion, intercommunication; converse,
exchange, interchange, conversing, discussing,
talking;
The facets of Communication
•
Sender the person trying to communicate a
message
•
Receiver the person at whom the message is
directed
•
Information that a message is sent to convey
•
Behavior that the Information is meant to
change (Value added)
Barriers to Communication

Human nature: Peoples’ egos, prejudices,
and traditions can get in the way

Conflicting feelings, goals, opinions: If people
feel on opposite sides of an issue they may
not share

Power: The idea that knowledge is power can
lead to information hoarding
Barriers to Communication

Unclear process: The receiver and sender may
not share the same language, slang, jargon,
vocabulary, symbols

Chain of command: There may be too many
layers that a message passes through between
sender and receiver

Large size of an organization, geographic
distance: Large numbers of receivers require
good message sending methods

Personal limitations: Physical and mental
disabilities, and differences in intelligence and
education
Its time for some PM
Fun !!!
Managed the resources $$$ ?
Managed the
resources ?
Buck passer
The wise project manager maintains a list of people to whom the buck can be passed
when this becomes necessary and allocates priorities (proportionate with the degree
of aggravation casued to the project manager).
•line managers who failed to give up their claim to resources...
•controllers of corporate purse strings who failed to cough up the necessary readies..
•project board members, who questioned the validity of the project, or started raising
awkward bloody questions about status reports, ……self righteous, megalomaniac,
meddling gits....er you get the message.
The wise project manager maintains a list of people to whom
the buck can be passed.
Project Closure

What is it? (continued)
 Formalizing
acceptance
 By the Project Sponsor
 Customer confirms all requirements for the product have
been delivered
 Noting
open items
 Analyzing
project success and effectiveness
 Studying what went right and what went wrong
 Archiving
project records
Project Closure

Lessons Learned
 A forum
to discuss and document positive and
negative attributes of a completed project
 Dissect
 No
the project process, NOT the people
finger pointing
 Don’t
gloss over specifics – ideas for improvement
grow out of the specifics
 The
Project Manager can get the session rolling, but
the information should come from the Team
 Conclude
items
by translating recommendations into action
Conclusions
Team 1 : Quality Assurance
Q&A
with
QA Team